I've been thinking of fostering an adult dog this, and am trying to figure out if it will be a good idea or not. I am going to be working this summer 5 days a week, 8-4, and am not sure if it is wise to foster a dog in this situation? There will also be two other people in the household, but they won't be for sure at home with the dogs. I am hiring a dog walker for Kayla, but would rather not have to pay for a walker for a second dog, so I was thinking a low energy small senior dog.

I know my situation isn't ideal for fostering a dog but I keep torturing myself by looking at petfinder and seeing all these poor old dogs that nobody wants and thinking how they are just stuck in a cage all day. I feel like even being left mostly alone for nine hours wouldn't be as bad as the cage. Also it would have my dog as companionship, and two other people who could at least let it out to pee. And when I get home from work I could take it out with Kayla to play if it likes playing.

Anyways, that is pretty much my situation and was hoping someone could give me some advice on whether offering to foster a second dog would be a wise thing to do!

badger

April 9th, 2005, 03:53 PM

Why don't you foster a cat? Many are quite comfortable with dogs and can be excellent companions. I placed a gorgeous cat with a family recently and they were quite concerned about how their dog would react. The very first night they slept together on the couch!

kayla

April 9th, 2005, 04:12 PM

Actually I hadn't thought of fostering a cat, silly me. I am fostering 3 right now too, but not for long. Thing is I was thinking of actually getting a second dog, so thought this might be a good way to see how I can handle taking care of two. I thought it would be nice for them to have eachother's companionship.. Also, if the two dogs got along and everything went well I would probably end up adopting the dog permanently.

Come to think of it I could probably foster both a cat and a dog :)

LL1

April 9th, 2005, 07:48 PM

Fostering a dog would be a good idea too. Many foster homes also work full time,or go to school full time,as do many adopters.I would not recomend puppies,but adult dogs would be workable.The harder part would be ensuring the dogs would be safe with cats,but if you are able to ensure the cats' safety and can keep them separate,I think it would be great!

twinmommy

April 9th, 2005, 08:19 PM

Assuming Kayla is female, then you could go with a nice old male....like... THIS one!!!! meet Mylo!!!http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=4258509&adTarget=468doggeneral&SessionID=42587ead2a3d9b31-app1&display=&preview=&row=0&tmpl=&stat=

kayla

April 9th, 2005, 10:45 PM

The harder part would be ensuring the dogs would be safe with cats,but if you are able to ensure the cats' safety and can keep them separate,I think it would be great!

I would be able to separate the cat from the dogs. My puppy is very good with cats but she is still a puppy so I would never leave her alone with them.

Assuming Kayla is female, then you could go with a nice old male....like... THIS one!!!! meet Mylo!!!http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&pet=4258509&adTarget=468doggeneral&SessionID=42587ead2a3d9b31-app1&display=&preview=&row=0&tmpl=&stat=

Mylo is sooooooo cute. Problem is I'm going to be in Vancouver at the end of April, I was going to wait until I got there to foster.. Mylo was exactly what I was thinking though, a small older male dog who really needs a home. I wish I could take him. Will he really be pts or is that just to get people to adopt him? I wish I could save them all :sad:

coppperbelle

April 10th, 2005, 07:33 PM

If you are really interested in fostering why not start off with a short term foster? Some dogs only need to be fostered for a few days/week. You could also look specifically for dogs that are older and less active. This will give you an idea if fostering is right for you in your current situation.

meb999

April 12th, 2005, 02:31 PM

definetly go for it!!! I'm fostering for the first time (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=13713) , and it's awsome!

kayla

April 12th, 2005, 06:03 PM

Buster is so cute! Do you stay at home all day with him or are you working?

Copperbelle, that's a really good idea. I should look into short term fostering. What kind of situations needs a short term foster? I'm kinda new to this and have only fostered cats so I'm not sure how it works with dogs.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

meb999

April 12th, 2005, 07:48 PM

Buster is so cute! Do you stay at home all day with him or are you working?

I go to school...so he's home for about 5 hours a day 4 days a week by himself. He's doing great, we've been working through his seperation anxiety...I posted some pics of him in the 'sleepy' thread (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=116281#post116281)